Tony Scott dies: The best moments from his movies

It was with a heavy heart that we woke today to hear that director Tony Scott had died. We’re gonna miss ya, Tony. Purists always tended to snub the younger Scott brother, saying there was nothing to his ‘style over substance’ cinema. But to be honest, when the style is this good, who needs substance? Here are the greatest moments from his films.

6. Days Of Thunder (1990)

I know Days Of Thunder is a load of old rubbish. But it is one of those films I just cannot refuse to enjoy no matter what the evidence on the screen in front of me. Is there anything particularly surprising about Tom Cruise playing a cocky young hotshot, or Robert Duvall portraying a grizzled old veteran? No, but frankly, who cares. It’s got Michael bleedin’ Rooker in it, and that’s good enough for me. The film’s fastest lap is when Scott sits back, turns up The Spencer Davis Group real loud and lets Duvall and some screeching tyres do the talkin’. ‘Hit the pace car,’ indeed.

WARNING: Some of the below videos contain swearing and scenes of a graphic nature

5. Crimson Tide (1995)

Sometimes it’s nice to have fast cars going round in a circle on a track (can Nascar drivers only turn left?). And sometimes all you need are two Hollywood heavyweights shouting at each other. For Crimson Tide, Scott goes for the latter, pitching Hackman and Washington into a submarine and then letting the sparks fly. No one shouts like Hackman. The fact that it inspired the best Simpsons episode ever just makes it all the more enjoyable.

4. True Romance (1993)

I have to say, I’m not the greatest fan of True Romance. Mainly because I think Christian Slater sold out after Pump Up The Volume. But anyway. What isn’t in doubt is the power of this scene, where Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper, two of the most menacing actors of their generation, sit down and chew through Tarantino’s dialogue under Scott’s direction. The beauty of this sequence is its inevitable outcome.

3. The Last Boy Scout (1991)

When most people say, ‘If you touch me again I’ll kill ya’, you can just laugh it off and touch them again. But not Bruce Willis. Before he was running about like an eejit in The Expendables 2, he was the toughest guy on the block. ‘I seemed to have dropped my cigarette…’

2. Spy Game (2001)

This is an underrated modern classic. It’s got Robert Redford being Robert Redford. It’s got Brad Pitt being a younger-looking Robert Redford. It’s got all sorts of spy stuff. It’s just great. It’s not just stuff blowing up either, Spy Game has heart, as this pretty emotional ending illustrates. Dammit, some day I want to say ‘Operation Dinner Out is a go’ down a phone…

1. Top Gun (1986)

And the winner is… what else? It could only be Top Gun, the movie that Scott will probably be remembered most fondly for. The making of doc that goes with the movie is probably better than the actual film itself, but there is no denying Top Gun has printed a huge fighter jet-shaped stamp on the public consciousness. The need for speed, wing man, ego writing cheques your body can’t cash… we use these phrases every day (I work with lots of people with big egos).

While the film was a bit of a shot in the dark all round – Scott was unproven, Cruise wasn’t the star he was set to become – the whole thing somehow came together. Many say it is the film that killed cinema, but what I would say to those people is, ‘Easy Cougar’. Sometimes you have to just sit back and enjoy the ride. But which scene is best? Beach volleyball set to Kenny Loggins’ ‘Playing with the Boys’ which is no way homo-erotic? The bit where (SPOILER ALERT) the guy named after a bird dies? We’re gonna go for this one – the worst singing in any movie ever.

It’s fun, it’s silly and it puts a big smile on your face – everything a great Tony Scott movie should do. RIP.